Starting this fall, Disney will have three separate streaming services on the market. There’s Disney+ , which debuts in November and leverages the power of Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and Disney’s classic animated library . There’s ESPN+ , which offers extra content for die-hard sports fans. Finally, there’s the movie and TV streaming service Hulu, which Disney controls after purchasing 21st Century Fox .
Thankfully, if you want all three, Disney is going to make it easy for you. On November 12, the same day that Disney+ arrives, Disney will offer a package that includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for a mere $13 , Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an investors call.
On their own, Disney+ costs $7 a month, ESPN+ is $5 a month, and Hulu is $6 a month, so the bundle will save potential subscribers about $5 in monthly fees. It’s also cheaper to pay the $13 fee every month than to commit to both Disney+ and ESPN+ for a year at discounted rates ($70 and $50, respectively) and add a Hulu subscription on top (Hulu doesn’t offer an annual subscription option).
Of course, the bundled version of Hulu is most likely the basic package , which includes advertisements. It also won’t include Hulu+Live TV , Hulu’s answer to live TV streaming services like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue . If either of those things are important to you, the bundle may not be for you.
Still, at $13, the Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu bundle remains competitive with other stand-alone streaming services. A Netflix subscription that can stream in HD resolution costs $13 on its own (the SD version is $9 a month), while AT&T’s HBO Max is expected to come in at $16 or $17 a month.
With multiple streaming platforms arriving in the next year and popular properties like Friends and The Office leaving Netflix for brand-specific platforms, it’s getting harder and harder for media consumers to stay on top of all of the content. Disney’s bundle is a great way to help alleviate that pain. Not only will Disney’s bundle make it easy to stay on top of buzzed-about original series like The Mandalorian on Disney+ and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale , but the massive amount of pre-existing content available on all three platforms should keep viewers busy for a long, long time.
